Hachis Parmentier, French Shepherd Pie Recipe

What is Hachis Parmentier?

Hachis Parmentier is a classic French dish with mashed potato and minced meat.

Hachis comes from ” hacher’ meaning to chop off, as it’s a way to recycle left over meat.

Parmentier comes from Antoine Augustin Parmentier , who is famous for having introduced potatoes to the French back in the XVIIIth Century. There’s even a metro station in Paris called Pamentier.

This is one of my kids favorite dish.

The closest English translation I could find is Shepherd Pie. My version uses minced beef instead of lamb. I still remember when I discovered duck Parmentier in a Bed and Breakfast near Bordeaux back in 2007.

Here are two recipes for you:

a super easy one I learnt as a early from one of my best friend’s mum, 30 min including cooking time

a healthier one with fresh produces and more veggies, takes a hour including cooking time

7. Add warm milk so your mashed potatoes have the right texture, add salted butter, sprinkle some nutmeg, add in the crushed the left over garlic. Wanna go wild? Add some sour cream and even truffle oil!

Potatoes before smoothing it all with milk, butter and cream

8. Lay half the mash as a base layer

Base layering: stretch your mash potato from the center to the sides

9. Pour all the meat on top

10. Add a layer of cheese, could be French like Emmental, Comté , Cantal, or Norwegian or Danish cheese (Jarlsberg), even Mozzarella or Pizza Mix. Not Blue Cheese, Camembert or Parmesan though.